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Eight-Bit Bastards: Levels One and Two cover art

Eight-Bit Bastards: Levels One and Two

By: Joshua Mason
Narrated by: Michael Norman Johnson
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Summary

When you’ve maxed out your level, done every quest, and defeated every enemy, there’s not much left. So after seven centuries of immortality, Sean wants nothing more than to die. Afterall was touted as a paradise, an afterlife where anyone could pursue their interests, from archery to zookeeping. The gaming was the stuff of legend, but for Sean it had grown stale.

But when a woman from a past life informs him of a real, flesh-and-blood descendant that has hacked his way in, Sean finds a new purpose. The AI doesn’t take kindly to interlopers, and parks the intruder in the one realm so buggy that even the oldest, most powerful denizens of Afterall steer clear of it - the Bitrealm.

Sean must enter a land created for the original gamers, people like him who cut their teeth on some of the first video games released to the public. Will Sean brave the pixelated wilderness of Bitrealm to rescue his lost kin? Or will he fall victim to the force that has been making people vanish? One thing’s for certain, he can’t do it alone. He’s going to need a few members of his original guild.

He’s going to need some Eight-Bit Bastards.

Book Two:

Sean and the Bastards have entered the Bitrealm, and so far it hasn’t been all 1-Ups and treasure. They’ve tracked Pliny down to a castle in the mountains to the north, and they’ll need every bit of their skills, honed while playing some of the first and greatest video games, to survive its depths. But it won’t be easy. The castle soon takes its toll, separating the party and pitting them against some of the most dangerous creatures they’ve faced yet - creatures that may not be what they seem. Something has been tormenting the souls of Afterall, transforming them into shadows of their former selves. And with every twist and turn the castle throws at them, that something is getting closer. Add in a devious AI, a skeleton who’s watched too much TV, and more retro gaming goodness than you can shake a joystick at, and you have Eight-Bit Bastards.

©2019 Joshua Mason (P)2019 Spectrum Audiobooks

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What listeners say about Eight-Bit Bastards: Levels One and Two

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Listener received this title free

now this is how you do throw backs

this book keeps throwing memories at me and I'm loving it, because it's never the focus it just "happens to happen" while the plot trucks forward
impressive writing...

Michael does a great job, I could wish for his females being a little bit better, but that's nitpicking...
and whoever did the sound design needs to get a medal!
so on point

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Really enjoyable easy listen

Pretty different to other litrpg books I’ve read or listened to. Firstly the narrator was great, clearly spoken, good range of voices and very expressive. Really interesting story, enjoyed all the characters, a fun and easy listen. Definitely recommend

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Listener received this title free

Fun and different take on the genre

Despite this being two books combined, the runtime does not seem very long at all with the author keeping the story moving along at a brisk pace with his interesting take on this genre, focusing on more retro games rather than the vrmmo-style of games that most authors obviously gravitate towards.

The group of heroes assembled by the main character are an interesting mix and those characters they meet along the way that are not being deliberately written as an 8-bit era npc also help to add depth to the story too, which has a lot more going on in the background than the initially simple premise that starts the adventure in the first place.

The narrator gives a good performance, a good range of distinctive voices for the main cast and he is aided by some suitably retro bits of game audio that add to the atmosphere without seeming too obtrusive.

Overall, an entertaining listen and a fun take on the litrpg genre.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

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Awesome theme

what can i say other then what a surprise!!!

Great narration and story with a unique theme.

well worth the purchase if your on the fence

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

8-Bit Buddies to the Rescue

Step into a digital afterlife hundreds of years after being created. The characters spend most of their time in an rpg section of the afterlife they exist in.

I liked the idea that this wasn't another origin story of a vr game, giving a bit of a twist on a typical litrpg. I do feel like the author could have benefited from exploring the world a bit more, though. The world this book focuses on in very interesting, but we only see snapshots of much of it. I would be interested in a prequel to the books, especially if it focused on a different MC.

The MC was mostly unlikable and I found myself caring more for the side and support characters. He is too self centered and unapologetic for a person his age, and it just made me not care for his character development.

The narrator did a decent job and was glad to hear another person I wouldn't mind reading me stories in the future. He did well in keeping pace and differentiating most of the characters.

The few other problems I have with 8 Bit Bastards is the lack of an ending and the sound effects which both seem to jump out at your and are a bit too high volume compared to the narrator.

I love myself some litrpg, and I think the concept kept me interested enough to take this book to the end. It is a decent read, but enjoy the journey and don't expect a big conclusion (many loose ends).

I received a free review copy and am leaving a voluntary review.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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What an Adventure in the 8 bit world!

It's one of the few books that I got through in 1 sitting - the story is easy to follow and the narration is really good, in the beginning it felt similar to TV show Upload, but once the got into the 8 bit world, I can honestly say I have not read or seen anything comparable. the story paints a very vivid journey in that world that keeps you always wanting to hear more - so be warned: once you finish this book, you will want to know what happens at Level 3!

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  • Overall
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Fun story with lots of game references.

Interesting story about a group of bored and long since played out people in a "afterlife" style virtual reality, where dying starts to look good after 700 years of being alive.

One more quest to save a great-great-great grandkid is maybe just enough to motivate them to give it one more shot.
great twists and fun gameworlds.

The narrator is fun and engaging, keeping everything clear and with good tempo to keep the story going.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A joyride of crazy silliness.

As someone who grew up at the advent of home videogames, this book worked really well for me.
As a lover of retro, 8-bit is my thing (not this silly pixel-art fad occurring in games today) and the idea of a group of MMORPG gamers entering an 8-bit world is my dream and the narrator was suitable exciting and animated to fit the classic game style perfectly.
With a pretty interesting cast and a great sense of urgency due to the toil the 8-bit world took on the players, the book was a real page-turner but I do have to say that quite often the book seemed to forget it was 8-bit and described things in a far more real-world way which was quite jarring.
With a solid, yet strangely unsatisfying ending I am looking forward to the next but the author needs to find some new tricks to pull to prevent the series becoming a one-trick-pony.

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A Really good game story

I have read or tried to read a few books based in a game but never finished them as they just were so silly.

This one is so different. The characters are fleshed out enough to make you engage with them and the storyline is good.

You find yourself immersed in the world fully and are really caught up in it.

I had thought I would never read another of these books but as I was offered this book to listen to for free plus other positive reviews I thought I would request it and am glad I did.

I will definitely be purchasing the other books in the series..

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It's a nice book

Definitely not Shakespeare's work but overall it's a nice fun book, containing an interesting idea about a world in 8 bit

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